1 Corinthians 3: God's Workers and Fields

God's Workers and Fields

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul tells the church in Corinth that they are not yet spiritual people, yet they are of the flesh. Paul could only teach them with spiritual milk (like a baby) and not with spiritual meat (for the grown up believer). The focus had not been on God but on the ones who taught God's word. There was favoritism in the church.

While the favoritism can be attributed to the different sects of Christianity, I do not believe there were more sects of the faith at the time. The church as a whole was still growing. The word of Christ was still being delivered to those who didn't know of Christ. As we stand in 2016 the unity within the church could simply mean within your specific church. If you are favoring one pastor over another and only want to hear from one pastor then that could be part of why this church in Corinth was divided between those who followed Paul or Apollos.

One pastor waters and another may plant seeds, but they both have responsibilities under God who is the ultimate authority. If you are only likely to do what your pastor says and not read your Bible and seek to understand it on your own, you are doing yourself a disservice. We are all responsible for our role in our faith and our growth. God doesn't expect us to be experts in scripture to where we have to fill out tests when we reach the pearly gates. This isn't that kind of test. The test is while we are here. We are to learn and spread the word of Christ and be loving and not show partiality based on race or gender or anything. We are not to be partial. God does not want division in His temple (1 Corinthians 3:17). 

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Friday Focus #3

Bad Company and Good Morals

In the Wednesday Wake Up for this week I covered being unequally yoked with people who do not follow Christ. This could be dating, marriage, close relationships, business, etc. If you follow Christ it doesn't make sense as to why you would unite with someone who does not follow or understand Christ as you do. How can they help you grow in your relationship with Christ? That is in conjunction with the 1st Commandment.

You can't charge your iPhone with a charger for your my phone. It is a completely different device. Would you seek a golf coach to become a pilot? Would you want to learn how to cook from someone who doesn't understand how to cook? Why be partnered with someone who doesn't match well with you for something so important to you?

In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul tells us not to be misled and that bad company corrupts good character. I struggle in my prayer life from time to time. The only people who can help me grow in that area are those who follow Christ. If I am having a down in the dumps kind of day, nice words are nice from friends, but couldn't I use some scripture too? People who don't follow Christ have never led me to seek scripture for anything I was ever going through. I need that. You need that. We are all a part of the body of Christ and we need to be strong to keep the body upright and healthy. Just like we need to eat right, drink water and exercise for the betterment of our own bodies, then we need to make sure the body of Christ is strong as well by checking out where we are plugged in and with whom we are connected.

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